Reunion
by YugamiYoshitsune
Summary: A few months after the end of AA:DD, Simon happens upon his estranged parents during a visitation with his sister. This is the story of their reconnection, featuring the background of the Blackquill siblings. Cykesquill in later chapters (add "Romance" to the given genres, although the selected two are probably more prevalent).
1. Chapter 1

When Simon Blackquill entered the detention center one drizzly Saturday afternoon in late February, he was surprised to hear from the officer in charge that his sister already had two visitors.

As the guard was not about to deny a prominent prosecutor and former inmate his visitation, he made it past the front desk easily enough, in spite of the fact that prisoners were generally only allowed to see one registered party at a time.

However, his steps faltered when his eyes fell on the two people seated in the visitors' chairs in front of the bulletproof glass window, their faces turned in the other direction, yet oh-so-easily recognizable.

Aura looked up at him, and a small smirk began to show on her features. "Why, hello there, Simon. Look who came by!"

The tall, broad-backed man with the flaming red hair was quick to turn around and stare at him as if he were beholding a ghost, his diminutive wife in the traditional kimono following his example in a slower and more dignified manner.

"Simon, my boy…"

The male visitor's sonorous voice trailed off as he obviously did not know how to continue. In his stead, the woman spoke up, her voice quiet and barren of emotional inflection, uttering a single word.

"_Chōnan_."

Simon swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. "_Haha-ue_."

The silence after the hesitant greeting was so thick one could have cut it with a knife, until Aura's sarcastic tone shattered it.

"What a wonderful place to have a family reunion after all these years, eh, little brother?"

* * *

The meeting with his sister ended in fairly short order, mostly because it was dominated by long stretches of no one speaking a word. It had been too long since the Blackquill family had splintered apart, the cracks already in place even before the UR-1 case, although this incident had been the bulkhead which had thoroughly crushed the proverbial camel into a pulp.

Simon had gleaned from what little had been said that Marcus Blackquill was once again stationed at the Mildenhall RAF base in the UK, one of the few remaining active joint operations with the US Air Force in that country, where the youngest member of the family had spent a substantial part of his formative years. Apparently, their father had risen fairly high up in the ranks at this point, as he had muttered something about his refueling engineers being more difficult to keep in line than a herd of cats. Due to residing outside of the country, their parents had not gotten wind of the UR-1 retrial and his sister's subsequent incarceration until the respective news articles had been pointed out to them by acquaintances recently, and had decided to fly to California shortly thereafter.

While his father had at least attempted to make conversation, Masako Haneo-Blackquill had remained quiet after her initial greeting. Being descended from a very traditional Japanese family, she did not consider extraneous verbiage to be of much value. The unlikely couple had met while her future husband had been stationed at Yokota Air Base near Tokyo, and although vastly different in demeanor, their marriage was still going strong in spite of being just shy of its fortieth year.

However, as yet another silence began to fill the room with its uncomfortable density, she muttered softly, head vaguely tilted in Simon's direction although she was not meeting his eyes, "_O-hisashiburi nanode, hanashi-nasai._"

His eyebrows drew together in a hint of irritation. "_Nani o itte hoshiin dai?_"

He know he was being rude in his response to her request for him to talk, using a much more colloquial level of Japanese than she had, and her slightly hurt expression let him know that he had hit his mark. Not that they would have been able to continue their conversation, as now both his father and Aura were glaring at them.

"Mom, English, _please_," his sister groaned. Having been much more inclined towards numbers and constructing elaborate machines with her Erector Set from a young age, she had never been one for languages, and as their mother had been working through much of her childhood, their parents' first attempt at raising a child bilingually had failed rather miserably, particularly since their father had never acquired Japanese, himself. Simon, meanwhile, had benefited from Masako leaving her civilian secretarial post on the base after he had been born, and was a fluent speaker.

"Of course." Their mother's English was still softly accented in spite of having spent most of her adult life on various bases in Europe and the US alongside her husband.

After taking one look at his wife's expression, Marcus Blackquill ventured into the halting conversation once more. Turning towards Aura, he asked, unusually quietly considering his usually boisterous nature, "Sweetheart, would you mind if we came back to see you tomorrow? I'm sure you realize that we have a number of things to talk about with your brother…"

Aura heaved a theatrical sigh, rolling her eyes. "It's not like I can stop you. Don't bring him along when you come back, though, he's always such dreary company."

Their father smiled for a moment. "That's my girl, still one hell of a mouth on her. You'd have made a fine Air Force engineer. Too bad you were always more interested in space than in tanker aircraft."

Then, he turned towards Simon, his expression firm. "Son, a word with you, over a cup of coffee."

"I have other matters to attend to." His tone was half-confrontational, half-defensive.

Simon was about to rise and excuse himself when his mother spoke up once more, still at a low volume, but with a hint of steel in her voice. "Simon Tetsuya Blackquill, you are not excused."

His answer came all but automatically as he stilled in his movements. "Yes, _haha-ue_."

Marcus shot her a grateful look before he turned back towards his son. "Please, Simon. We won't keep you for long."

The _please _coming from his old man of all people, in conjunction with the use of his given name, startled Simon into inclining his head in agreement.

"Very well."

[End of chapter]

* * *

Glossary of the Japanese:

_Chōnan._ - Oldest son (sometimes also with the connotation of "only son")

_Haha-ue._ - "Mother," family-internal appellation, somewhat old-fashioned and very respectful.

_O-hisashiburi nanode, hanashi-nasai._ - Since it has been a long time, (please) talk. ["Mom" register plus a sprinkle of politeness markers]

_Nani o itte hoshiin dai?_ - What do you want me to say? [As said above, very plain speech - you don't use "dai" as interrogative in the polite registers; furthermore, the ending particle is also considered a tad outdated these days by many native speakers AFAIK, but no more archaic than, say, "dono" ;)]


	2. Chapter 2

About half an hour later, Simon found himself in the small café across the street from the courthouse, seated opposite his parents and nursing a cup of black coffee. The conversation, if one could call it that, was still dominated by wordless glances, as neither party knew what to say. Perhaps unsurprisingly so, considering the seven long years of radio silence, as well as the sporadic communication even before that.

Marcus, being the most inclined towards small talk of the three of them, eventually took a stab at speaking up.

"So… how's the career coming along, son?"

Simon barked out a laugh. "After everything, you are suddenly interested in my _career_? That's rich."

He still recalled his old man being appalled when the acceptance letter from UCLA had arrived.

_"Law, boy? Don't you think there are enough of those rule-twisting shysters and ambulance chasers around in the States already?"_

_"First of all," _Simon had returned coldly, _"I am aiming to become a prosecuting attorney, working for the state to act precisely in opposition to those 'shysters.' Secondly, as you might have noticed, the offer comes with a full tuition scholarship, as well as a monthly stipend, so you won't have to worry yourself over my lying on your pocket. And finally… you didn't actually expect your 'bookworm of a son' to follow in your footsteps after Aura decided that she'd rather construct robots and rocket ships than provide maintenance for stratotankers, did you?"_

Soon thereafter, he had departed the family home, then located in Marysville, California, for college in L.A., and between his studies and his burgeoning reconnection with his sister, who had flown the coop years ago, contact with his parents had greatly diminished, particularly with his father. His mother had not had any problems with his career choices, but had never been one for frequent phone conversations or more modern ways of communication such as e-mail, although she had written him long letters once or twice a month, to which he had dutifully responded.

Her husband, meanwhile, had continued to be indignant at the thought of his son not being interested whatsoever in participating in his pastimes or following his lead, particularly since the Blackquill family had served in various branches of the military for multiple generations – not that that had become an issue of contention until Aura had decided to go into robotics and complex circuitry when it had become time to specialize in her engineering studies at MIT. After that, the campaign to get his son invested in football or baseball, military technology and weaponry had begun, but it had been far too late at this point.

Though only 12 at the time, Simon had been his mother's son through and through, more interested in reading, the karate and aikido courses for which she had signed him up, and listening to her tales about her ancestors' history, as the Haneo clan had belonged to the provincial samurai class prior to the Meiji Restoration of 1868. While Marcus Blackquill had sulked over his younger offspring having very little aside from his likely future height in common with him, Masako had been quietly delighted that Simon had shown interest in his Japanese heritage, as Aura had been, and continued to be, completely indifferent to it.

His relationship with his sister had only had a chance to fully develop after he had arrived in Los Angeles. Having been born nine years apart, the Blackquill siblings had had very little to connect them beyond blood ties prior to Aura leaving for college. She had been 18 while he had been nine, an adult to his pre-adolescent childhood. She had been technically inclined, while he had had his nose buried in books, often far beyond his reading age. She had been on track to become the All-American Girl prior to her sudden decision to not follow in their father's footsteps, which, he had later learned, had been precipitated by getting to know Metis Cykes during her studies. Meanwhile, he had been the self-identified _haafu_, copying his mother's somewhat archaic speech patterns and frequently wearing _yukata _instead of jeans and t-shirt while venturing outside.

However, once he had begun his life off-base and in a college dorm, living on his own in a more mainstream setting, he had been able to reconnect with his barely-known much older sister on a somewhat more equal footing – they had both been living in the same city, after all, and as they had both reached adulthood suddenly finding themselves on their father's bad side, they had naturally bonded over that fact. About a year and a half before taking the bar, Simon had added a psychology minor to his course of study, which had ultimately lead to Aura introducing him to her colleague at the GYAXA Space Center, and to Dr. Cykes becoming his mentor. The rest, as they said, was history.

Marcus Blackquill flinched at the reminder of their longstanding feud over Simon's choices, unsure of how to respond. Apparently sensing his insecurity, his wife stepped into the breach, a testament to how well they complemented each other after four decades together.

"We are wondering because of what has happened. Are you experiencing any trouble, after your time in…"

She could not bring herself to say it.

Simon's breath left him in a sigh as his mother's quiet voice compelled him to answer. "Not anymore. Once my exoneration was announced publicly, my superior held a few press conferences, clarifying the events of seven years ago for the news outlets. At this juncture, I am but another prosecutor seeing to his tasks."

They would not be interested in how the people had viewed him when he had stood in court while still a prisoner, heavily shackled to prevent any sudden outbursts of violence. A twisted, distorted existence, the embodiment of the Dark Age of the Law.

Masako seemed skeptical at his answer. "Yet, you do not seem to sleep much."

He knew perfectly well that she had observed much more than that, had seen that, aside from the dark tracks under his eyes, which had sharpened into a cast of constant vigilance under the strain of seven years in the clink, he had lost some weight since they had last seen each other. She had to have noticed the white in his hair, by now more abundant than in her dark tresses in spite of the fact that she was 28 years his senior, had undoubtedly taken account of how far his own unruly strands descended down his back in a style announcing to those familiar with pre-modern Japanese culture that he considered himself bereft of master and clan affiliation, a _rōnin _in the traditional rather than the collegiate sense.

His mother's eyes seemed to ask, _Are you still my son?_

Yes, he was still wearing the crest of the Haneo family, had never really ceased to do so in spite of what had transpired after his initial incarceration, perhaps in a display of defiance. However, when it came down to it, Simon did not know how to answer her unspoken question.

[End of chapter]

* * *

A couple of notes:

Simon's middle name in the last chapter was chosen because most of the kanji readings for "Tetsuya" fit him so well - "being iron," "being devoted," "penetrating arrow"... the list goes on :D You can check out the characters if you type "Tetsuya" into Wikipedia (you need Japanese character support installed, though).

Masako's maiden name, "Haneo," consists of the kanji for "feather" and "cord," since I figured Simon's crest design had to come from somewhere (and "Blackquill" is not a terribly Japanese name - granted, maybe he's just a mega-weeb, but I liked the thought of it being an actual family crest!) :)

_Haafu _is a term of self-identification used by offspring of a Japanese person and a foreigner.


	3. Chapter 3

Eventually, Simon convinced himself to respond to his mother's overt observation, although he avoided addressing the ones which she had not uttered aloud.

"Over the last few weeks, I have improved, _haha-ue_. I now sleep five to six hours a night."

_Compared to two to three every night while being incarcerated._ Seen from that perspective, it _was _an improvement.

Masako's eyes narrowed slightly, and she could not keep from addressing him in Japanese in spite of her monolingual husband being present.

"_Mada, ayaui kata ni miemasu_."

Simon's answering smirk at his mother's observation that he still _looked _like a dangerous person was bitter. "_Tabun, mada yabee hito darō ze._"

Seven years as the 'Twisted Samurai' were difficult to shake off, even when confronted with the parent he continued to respect on a fundamental level. His lack of politeness in his answer made his stance abundantly clear.

The momentary flicker of pain in his mother's eyes told him that she remembered their final confrontation before their contact had completely disintegrated as well as he did. It had occurred shortly after he had received his death sentence in court, awaiting processing to be transferred from his temporary cell at the detention center to death row.

* * *

_Simon had not met his parents face-to-face for three and a half years, and their near-identical stony expressions were not what he needed right now. Not after he had lied his way through an all-too-short trial, insisting that he had been the one who had extinguished Metis Cykes' life, attempting to preclude any attempts by the prosecutor, once a respected colleague, to implicate little Athena for the crime after she had loudly insisted to testify on his behalf. Thankfully, the court officials had considered her tearful explanations that she could _hear_ what was in his heart, that it was _screaming_ that he had not done the deed, little more than a young girl's fancy, and had handed down the sentence he had expected ever since he had decided to shield her from the long arm of the law. Whatever had happened in the robotics lab prior to his arrival, it could not have been what he had initially believed to understand._

_By now, the psychological profile of the Phantom, which had been Dr. Cykes' last professional effort, was safely ensconced in his feathered compatriot's nest under the rafters of the courthouse, and he had gleaned from a guard that Athena was now "out of the reach of his blood-stained fingers," as she had been spirited away by relatives to Europe hours after the trial, safely removed from the tragedy which had uprooted her young life._

_His mother was the first to break the prolonged silence, taking in her son's haggard features after not having slept for the better part of three days, after having cried his way through the late night hours, carefully muffling his sobs in order to not alert the guards or fellow detainees to his distress._

"Musuko wa, hitogoroshi de wa nai to iu no o, mitomete kudasaimase!"

_Her exceeding politeness in the face of the situation caused him to chuckle darkly, his bitter amusement not entirely feigned._

_"But I am, Mother. I _am_ a murderer. Disappointing though it may be, you have read the judgment. Isn't it _crushing_ to know that your son has besmirched both family names with his actions?"_

_Simon laughed again, a hollow bark emphasized by slapping the narrow shelf situated just in front of the bulletproof window through which they were communicating, his features carefully schooled into an expression of cynicism._

_He had no choice at this point. He _had_ to convince them that he was a criminal, that he had stooped so low as to soil his hands with blood in killing his mentor, or Athena would come under suspicion._

_Now, his father spoke up, an alien presence who had not communicated with him since he had left the family home._

_"Simon, _please_… tell me this isn't true. You're not a killer. You're not that type of person. Why would you have murdered this poor woman, anyway?"_

_"As if you would know my _type_." Simon grinned in the most sinister way he could muster, refusing to acknowledge his father's unusual plea. "I've had my reasons. That is all you need to know."_

_His parents were shocked into silence._

_Simon continued, dedicated to his charade of making them believe he was guilty of the crime to which he had admitted._

_"I delighted in seeing her life's blood splattered onto the ground. I did _exactly_ what I meant to do. Does that unsettle you? Does it make you want to _throw up_ that I meant to kill, that I _meant_ to see my mentor breathe her last?"_

_He emphasized his statement with a nasty smirk, unable to meet his parents' eyes, lest he falter in his conviction._

_Masako took a long while to speak up again, her husband still too disturbed to contribute anything to the discussion._

"Kore kara wa, musuko de wa nai. Koseki kara mo, keshite itadaku tsumori na no yo. Sonata wa, ima kara, akanotanin na no yo."

_His mother's statement, unusually and incredibly plain-spoken, that he would from now on be a complete stranger, that he would be erased from the family registry, finalized the severance of his family ties. He would be solitary from this time forward, nothing more than a convicted murderer, a dark stain on his parents' memory, and he would go to his death knowing that no one could bring themselves to care anymore about a young man who had suddenly, spontaneously decided to slay his mentor._

_Simon decided to sever any lingering emotional considerations by utilizing excessive rudeness._

"Sō kai? Yoi zo. Ore wa, abuneen da ze. Hottoite. Nigete ike. KUTABARE!"

_His final imperative, one of the most egregiously insulting expressions in the Japanese language, caused his mother to recoil in disgust._

_"We will," she replied in English, shaking with anger. "We will wash our hands of being affiliated with a murderer. We will _delight_ in seeing you put to death. You are a disgrace. You are the foulest blossom to come into bloom on our family tree, and we will _mark_ the day the legal system will rip you off the branch. Now _leave_."_

_If Simon's final grin at them was strained, they chose not to notice. _

_"As you wish, _Mother_. I hope you _do_ delight in envisioning your flesh and blood hanging by his neck in a few years, his tongue lolling out of his mouth, his bowels evacuating shortly after death. It's nothing more than I deserve, after all."_

_After he had been led back to his cell once this particular meeting had concluded, he had nearly choked on his sobs, stifled behind a hand on his mouth in a corner of the barren concrete chamber, masked as having been caused by an upset stomach, if anyone were to ask._

_Nobody had._

* * *

Masako was silent for a long while after his statement that he just _might _be dangerous, after all, a flagrant reminder that he was not the young man they thought they had known.

Finally, she swallowed hard, taking a sip of her mocha, before speaking up again.

"Even if you look it… even after all that has happened… you are not dangerous. You are not what you pretended to be. Oh, you have changed. You are _different_. _Demo, yahari haha no jūki nan desu yo._"

Simon looked away, unable to face her after she had called him "her treasure." Was this really enough to repair the breach between them? Could he overlook their glances, full of concern and sorrow, could he accept their attempt at reaching out in light of the fact that he had done his utmost in trying to push them away, knowing that he would die at the hands of the state for a crime he had not committed, thereby bringing everlasting shame to his family?

He still could not bring himself to utilize the polite register in responding to his mother's assessment, not after they had attempted to destroy each other with words in their last confrontation, but had to acknowledge that she had spoken the truth.

"_Itta dōri da ze. Abunakunee zo._"

His mother graced him with a hesitant smile, in spite of his rude tone.

"I always knew. Somehow, I knew. You _are _my son still. No matter how much you have changed."

Simon allowed himself a lopsided little smile in return.

[End of chapter]

* * *

Disclaimer: I've been trying to model Simon's Japanese after that spoken by him in the Japanese version of GS5, i.e. slightly archaic in endings and particles, hyper-masculine, and kind of rude :P As this isn't the kind of language I usually produce, things may be off here or there, so if you're a Japanese speaker who knows better than silly old me, please feel free to correct me! Sorry for the onslaught here, the rest of this fic is much lighter on the Japanese, so I hope this chapter doesn't put you off!

_Mada, ayaui kata ni miemasu._ - "You still look like a dangerous person" [polite].

_Tabun, mada yabee hito darō ze._ "Maybe I am still a dangerous/no good guy" [very colloquial].

_Musuko wa, hitogoroshi de wa nai to iu no o, mitomete kudasaimase!_ - "Please admit that you are not a killer, son!" [pretty much hyper-polite, here to emphasize the plea]

_Kore kara wa, musuko de wa nai. Koseki kara mo, keshite itadaku tsumori na no yo. Sonata wa, ima kara, akanotanin na no yo. -_ "From this time forward, you are not my son. I intend to have you erased from the family registry, as well. From now on, you are a complete stranger" [formal nouns with informal inflection, indicating that she does not consider him worthy of politeness anymore].

_Sō kai? Yoi zo. Ore wa, abuneen da ze. Hottoite. Nigete ike. KUTABARE!_ - "Is that so? Very well. I am dangerous. Leave me alone. Run away. FUCK OFF/GO TO HELL!" [Zero politeness, going towards negative infinity with the last three phrases :P]

_Demo, yahari haha no jūki nan desu yo._ - "But, you are still your mother's treasure (in the sense of "a very important person to me")" [polite]

_Itta dōri da ze. Abunakunee zo._ - "As you say, I'm not dangerous" [informal]


	4. Chapter 4

For a long moment, they sat in renewed silence, albeit one less fraught with tension than those before, sipping their coffee.

In spite of the fact that he still seemed the most uncomfortable out of the three, not only because he had been partially excluded from the conversation but also because his last attempt at communicating with his son had been roughly rebuffed, Marcus Blackquill eventually decided to speak up again.

"About Aura… thank you for hiring legal counsel for her. She wouldn't have gotten away with only a year in prison for taking hostages otherwise."

Simon raised an eyebrow. "Given the situation, anything less would have been dishonorable, even _if _I didn't agree with her forcing the retrial at the time."

After his false confession and the loss of Metis, his relationship with his sister had suffered from a severe strain, but ultimately, Aura had not been able to bring herself to just let him rot away in prison by himself, no matter how much she had resented his lies and his silence, no matter how hard he had tried to dissuade her from coming to see him with mockery and cynicism. At least in her case, blood had proven to be thicker than water, although the fact that he had been holding on to knowledge relating to her beloved colleague's demise had likely also played a role in her persistence.

Oh, she had tried to cajole the truth out of him continuously, right until what he had thought would be his last day on earth. _"All this time and you haven't said a word. It's even turning your hair gray!"_ she had exclaimed in exasperation less than 24 hours before his scheduled execution. When she had stormed off after he had made it clear that he would not suddenly break down and start talking, her statement that she "had another plan up her sleeve" had been concerning, to say the least, but as his attention had been occupied by Wright attempting to nose into his business afterwards, he had not been able to ponder the implications right away – and Aura had made her move quickly, before he had been able to think through the situation and potentially counter her intentions by alerting his superior.

Granted, everything had ended well in that both he and Athena had been proven innocent in the trial which his sister's actions had brought about – but had it not been for a number of incredibly lucky coincidences and the fact that Wright and Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth were an impressive team, Aura would have achieved her original objective: The inculpation of Athena Cykes for the murder of her own mother, the very thing which he had sought to prevent in accepting the death sentence, in sitting in the clink in silence for seven long years.

The Blackquill siblings, for all their differences, _did_ love each other, but they had also managed to grievously hurt the respective other with their actions. Simon supposed that, to a degree, he had gotten off lightly – he had been in a panic for less than half a day, compared to Aura's seven years of sorrow, but the mere thought of her succeeding and nullifying his voluntary sacrifice still sent ice-cold shivers down his spine months after the fact. Additionally, seven years of sniping at each other were not put aside all that easily, particularly since the venue of their conversations had not changed, even if they now occupied the respective other side of the bulletproof window.

Simon's father shook his head in disbelief. "You were honestly ready to die for that girl? I still don't know whether to be impressed or worried that you might have a few screws loose…"

"_Anata_," Masako cut in. "He considered the mother his master. He chose the most honorable path. _Migawari _is… old-fashioned, yes. Perhaps I am to blame in raising him that way. But please, do not believe him deranged for it."

Of all people, his mother would understand. No one else had been entirely able to wrap their heads around his willingness to sacrifice himself for Athena, not even she.

Simon sighed and closed his eyes. "It is as Mother says, although there is more to it. Dr. Cykes lost her life due to my investigation. I didn't know it at the time, although I came to realize it soon after my conviction. I should have provided additional security, or at least been less inept in concealing her involvement. Hell, I should have been there _earlier_ that day to confront the abominable blackguard, myself, before he had a chance to strike her down. Indirectly, I _do_ bear blame for her death. Keeping her daughter safe to the last was the least I could do to atone for my failure."

Suddenly, he felt a small, lean hand settle on top of his, and looked up at Masako, who was now firmly shaking her head.

"You were still so _young_, seven years ago. You were given the task to hunt a man without a face, all by yourself, and you sought help from your mentor, which was willingly given. Do you not think that additional security would not have meant much? Do you not think that this spy, if you had confronted him one-on-one, would have bested you? Honor is important to a samurai, but it is not besmirched by not being all-knowing or all-powerful. _Chōnan mo, kore o gozonji deshō._"

Simon let out a huff, half-amused, half-bitter. "Hmph. _Kekkyoku, ano yatsura wa ore yori unmei o gyakuten shiteta ze. __Hontō ni, chikara ga nee shōko ja nee no kai?_"

His sister's insistence on the retrial, at the cost of her own freedom. Athena's insistence to use her Mood Matrix on him in a bid to see through his lies, and on accepting her guilt as truth the moment she had managed to do so, as long as _he_ would walk free. Wright's _and _Edgeworth's insistence on believing in his innocence in spite of his refusal to cooperate for the longest time, and on arguing their way through even the tiniest speck of evidence to the bitter end. Yes, he had stepped in to finish the job after the Chief Prosecutor had graciously allowed him to take over, but compared to everyone else's dedication, their refusal to accept anything less than the whole truth, he felt that he had contributed very little to the outcome of the situation, that he had been powerless to change his fate by himself. The thought was humbling.

Masako squeezed his hand slightly. "Power can also lie in accepting the aid of others, and in working with them to achieve great things."

"Your mother is right," Marcus agreed. He might not have understood his son's assertion, but he had gleaned the contents from the context of their conversation.

"You've always been one to make your own way, but sometimes, it takes a little friendly help if what you're up against is too big for you. This spy sounds like a dangerous fellow, and from what the articles said, you and all the others almost didn't manage to pin him down in that courtroom, even after everything was out in the open. You've got him now. He's done for. And you've done your part in getting him what he deserves. Heck, without you willingly going to jail, the girl would've taken the rap, and he would've likely given the system the slip without that report you hid away, and that ability of hers to make use of it."

Simon was surprised to see a minute smile appear on his father's features. "As strange as it sounds after all the hullabaloo about the 'Dark Age of the Law,' in the end, you've done this country a favor in becoming, what was it, the 'Twisted Samurai?' If it hadn't been for you, this menace to our national security would still be free to plan his next attacks. I'm proud of you, son."

All that Simon could do in response was sharply nod in acknowledgment; he did not trust himself to speak, as he was sure that there would have been an uncharacteristic waver in his voice.

[End of chapter]

* * *

_Anata_ - technically "you" in today's Japanese (literally "that person"), but it's only used in very specific cases as a pronoun, one of those being that of a wife addressing her husband.

_Migawari_ - the rough translation of this term is "sacrifice", but the _kanji_ mean "body substitution." It's a common theme in warrior-themed kabuki plays - either stepping in yourself to shield a more important person, or substituting one of your family members.

_Chōnan mo, kore o gozonji deshō_ - "Son, you should know that, as well" [very polite, more out of traditional considerations than because she is elevating him here - it's supposed to signify along with the address that, as far as she is concerned, he's back in the fold].

_Kekkyoku, ano yatsura wa ore yori unmei o gyakuten shiteta ze. Hontō ni, chikara ga nee shōko ja nee no kai?_ - "In the end, those guys, rather than me, turned around fate. Isn't that really proof that I am powerless?" [The regular not-polite mode - also, see what I did there? ;)]


	5. Chapter 5

At that point, they actually _did _manage to descend into small talk, not something Simon usually indulged in, but seeing that he had not spoken with his parents face-to-face and on an amenable basis in ten years, it was… relaxing. Safe, if unfamiliar.

Marcus ventured to ask half-jokingly, "So, when are you going to get rid of that mat of hair of yours? It might look a little strange in the next family portrait…"

His son smirked. "_Certain_ people happen to like it, and as my superior has yet to complain about it, I currently have no intentions to do so. Although…"

He took his ponytail in hand and eyed it critically. "… maybe a spot of trimming would not be amiss."

Marcus raised an eyebrow. "'Certain people?' You're dating?"

_…I should have kept my bloody gob shut._

"As it happens…" Simon attempted to avoid becoming more specific, but now his father was interested. Once Marcus Blackquill had licked blood, it was hard to maneuver him off the track he was determined to follow – perhaps his son had inherited more from him than was initially obvious.

"So shortly after getting out of the slammer? Either you didn't lose any time, or… oh god, don't tell me this is some sort of prison romance?"

Simon could not resist. "Blast. Here I was ready to introduce you to Jesús at the detention center tomorrow, and now you've spoilt the surprise."

His father blanched, but his mother had obviously picked up on his dry tone, as she had lifted a hand to her mouth to hide her smile. While she was very traditional in bearing and demeanor, she was not scandalized by a bit of bawdy humor on occasion, a result of having grown up with a number of older brothers.

After one look at his wife, Marcus burst out laughing. "Well played, son. So tell me, who is he?"

"_He_?" Simon raised an eyebrow.

His father stared at him. "You're saying you aren't gay? You never seemed interested in girls growing up…"

"If you gauge _interest _in terms of hiding _Playboy _magazines under the mattress as an adolescent and slavering over the centerfolds, perhaps not." By now, Simon was amused in spite of himself.

Marcus snorted. "That'll teach me to assume things about you, I guess. Then again, I've been doing that too much from the start, haven't I?"

When their eyes met after the rhetorical question, his son was able to discern the unspoken apology without having to ask for clarification.

"Considering that I haven't exactly done anything to rectify any potential misunderstandings in the past..." Simon began to feel somewhat uncomfortable with this line of conversation; he was not used to talking frankly with his father to begin with, and to now attempt to bridge nearly twenty years of their talking past and avoiding each other, especially considering the complete lack of contact or anything resembling familial ties in the last seven years…

Still, the change in topic had managed to distract his parents from inquiring further about his current romantic entanglement.

He had just thanked his stars for this happenstance when his luck promptly ran out, as a jaunty female voice called out behind him, "Hey, Simon! What are you doing here? I thought you'd still be visiting with Aura!"

Turning his head, he noticed Athena sauntering towards their table, dressed in jogging gear and holding a packet of orange juice in her hands, which she had purchased from the counter fridge. She leaned down to place a quick kiss on his lips after she came to a halt by his side.

Simon smiled at her in spite of the fact that this chance meeting might complicate matters yet again. "Well, I happened to encounter… some unexpected guests at the detention center."

Athena did not take long to add two and two together; after one glance at his parents, she addressed them. "Um… Mr. and Mrs. Blackquill, I assume?"

Marcus nodded. "That's right. And who might you be, Miss?"

She did not answer just yet, instead exchanging a quick look with Simon. Her eyes asked, _Do you want me to go?_

He shook his head almost imperceptibly, clearing his throat in an unobtrusive manner that should still allow her to hear the voice of his heart. _They will ask, anyway, and I am done lying about things to them. You might as well stay._

Athena took a deep breath. "I'm Athena Cykes. It's nice to finally meet you."

The silence after her self-introduction was deafening.

After a long moment, Marcus incredulously asked, "Son… am I understanding this right…? You're involved with…?"

Simon suppressed the urge to grimace at his father's tone. With a sigh, he invited quietly, "Have a seat, Athena."

She did so right away, grabbing a chair from a neighboring table and seating herself next to him, reaching for his hand. The contact was simultaneously seeking to offer and request reassurance.

Masako employed the glare that had her son quaking in his boots as a child when she inquired, "Have you not taken up enough of my son's life? We cannot hold you responsible for what he chose to do for you, but this… this is…"

His mother could not find the right word to finish the sentence. In her stead, Marcus picked up where she had left off.

"This is a _little _strange, you'll have to admit."

He did not sound quite as shell-shocked as his wife, which made Simon suspect that it might just be easier to appeal to his father in this matter, if he wanted to keep his love life from driving yet another wedge between him and his parents.

"I am aware that it might look odd at first glance," he admitted, his arm leaving the gap between their chairs to settle around Athena's shoulders, pulling her closer in an offer of comfort, as he had sensed her tensing next to him. "However, rather than _take up_ my life, she enriches it."

The glance he sent his mother at this statement warned her that she did _not _want to challenge him over this. Masako's eyes widened slightly, but she remained silent.

Apparently, this mode of communication was still too subtle for his father, who generally needed things spelled out for him.

"Considering your… well, _history_, I suppose… tell me that you're not just dating him because you feel you owe him, young lady."

"Wh-what?!"

Now he had done it; Athena was working up a head of steam.

"For your information, I'm not in the habit of _prostituting _myself to people I owe, no matter _how much _I owe them. Is it so hard to believe that I happen to love your son?!"

Marcus cringed at her question, and she now turned towards Masako. Her tone changed from anger to a plea for understanding, and Simon once again found himself impressed – even without using her Widget, which she had not been wearing for her jog, her ability guided her straight to the heart of his parents' misgivings.

"Mrs. Blackquill… please believe me when I say that I'm so sorry for everything that happened. I know, that doesn't make it better, but… I never meant for Simon to go to jail for me. I tried so, _so _hard to stop it back then, but no one would listen… and then, I decided that I'd save him on my own, but it took so long, and I was so scared that I wouldn't make it… He doesn't owe me anything, he never did, and if he's ever bothered by me, he knows that he just has to say the word and I'll go. Don't you?"

Her final question, directed towards him, caused Simon to lean in for a quick kiss, assuring her, "I don't want you to go."

Turning to gaze at his mother, he quietly added to Athena's rambling statement, "_Kiji wa, jōkyō o zenbu, setsumei shinakattan da ze._"

Masako's expression now showed expectation in light of his assertion that the articles had not explained everything about the situation.

"If that is the case, _do_ explain, then," she demanded with a sidelong glance at Athena, although Simon thought that her dismay at their relationship had softened a fraction after his girlfriend's words.

[End of chapter]

* * *

Just in case there's any doubt:

_Kiji wa, jōkyō o zenbu, setsumei shinakattan da ze._ - "The articles didn't explain the whole situation." [the regular informality]


	6. Chapter 6

Three and a half months ago

_Athena had come to see him a few weeks after _The People v. Woods_. It was mid-November, and his life's clock was steadily ticking down. He had but five more weeks until he would leave this world behind, along with his mortal shell. _

_Simon was surprised when he found himself opposite her at the detention center – he had been notified of an unannounced visitor, but not of just who it was._

_Even though his façade, honed over years of pretending, was all but impenetrable by now, he knew that she did not have to _look_ at him to read him like a book. This was dangerous. If she managed to ask the right questions…_

Calm yourself. She knows nothing of the Phantom case. How could she even get close?

_Oh, but she _could_. Even though he suspected that his erstwhile-and-forever target had played a prominent role in Metis Cykes' death, he still had no conclusive proof that Athena had _not_ been the one to kill her mother, and while he would, of course, refuse any offers of a 'counseling session' that could reveal what he had seen to her, she might just be able to get _that_ truth out of him if he let her try hard enough. _

_While he had ordered Fool Bright to gather any clues that remained from seven years ago, and Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth had let Simon know discreetly that his own subordinates were still on the hunt, as well, nothing had been forthcoming in spite of a recent Interpol warning that the Phantom was poised to strike in L.A. sometime in the next few months. At this juncture, it was more than likely that Simon would not live to see the faceless coward caught, and yet, this task, alongside guarding Athena's secret, was all that kept him from giving in to endless brooding, pondering his imminent demise._

_And now, here she was, so unlike the girl he had carried away from the crime scene on his arm seven years ago, and the life she radiated was blinding._

_When he took his seat opposite her, his expression was deliberately closed-off, his voice as monotonous as he could make it as he asked, "What can I do for you, Cykes-dono?"_

_She cut straight to the chase. "Tell me why you lied. Tell me why you keep insisting you did it."_

_The corners of Simon's mouth moved downward a fraction of an inch. Lying to her and stating that he _had_ killed her mother was obviously out, but he was not about to admit to _anything_. "No. Is that what you came for? If that is the case, have a good day."_

_"Wait!"_

_Astoundingly, her voice compelled him to halt in his movements as he was about to rise from the chair. When he turned to meet her gaze again, he caught her nervously glancing over to the guard at the door, who, however, seemed completely uninterested in their conversation._

_"Simon, I… I just heard the other day that they set your execution date."_

_His mien remained expressionless. "You heard correctly."_

_Athena sighed. "I know that, for whatever reason, you don't want me to save you. You were pretty clear about that."_

_She drew in a somewhat shuddering breath and visibly took a moment to regain her self-control. Simon found himself inexplicably grateful that she did not begin to cry._

Hmph. Fearing the tears of a woman? A fine 'hardened criminal' you are.

_He did not even realize that he had ceased to think of her as a child._

_"Anyway," she eventually continued, "I'm not going to promise to stop looking for something that'll get you out of here. I _can't_. But I… I don't want you to go with us being nothing but strangers. I had to try and ask, you've got to understand that, but since I doubt that I can get the truth out of you… can we just talk? Any topic you want, as long as it's not a case we're both working on. Please?"_

_Even as he felt his defenses beginning to waver, Simon responded, "This is not a good idea. It will only increase your pain when you must inevitably fail."_

_Her gaze hardened for an instant, and he could not help but be struck again by the steely resolve she could muster these days when it came down to it. "My pain is _my_ business, Simon Blackquill. Besides, how is it going to be _better_ for me to know that someone who was a close friend is now pushing me away as he prepares to die? I'd rather use what little time we have left for something that _doesn't_ involve sitting at home and worrying about you, and nothing you say can make me stop doing _that_."_

_Her large blue eyes bored into his. "I promise I won't say a word to the others, and that I won't bring up UR-1 while I'm visiting with you. Just… please. Talk to me again."_

_He was silent for a long moment._

What could it hurt?

_"One mention of UR-1, and the deal is off."_

_Athena's smile seemed to light up the whole room. "Thank you."_

_Simon smirked at her. "I'm not sure what you are thanking me for, Cykes-dono. You have just condemned yourself to conversing with a bitter old jailbird. I'm sure the pleasure will be all mine."_

_She crossed her arms in front of her chest with a suddenly annoyed expression. "Okay, first of all, you're not _old_. And secondly, could you stop it with the 'Cykes-dono' already? You know my name. You've used it often enough. Athena. Ah-thee-nah!"_

_That got a chuckle out of him. "Very well. 'Ah-thee-nah' it is."_

_Athena laughed at his deliberately exaggerated pronunciation of her first name, and for a moment, in spite of everything, all was right with the world._

* * *

"We started talking about three times a week, between Aura's visits," Simon concluded relating their initial private encounter after clashing in court to his parents.

"As we had agreed to leave the events of seven years ago unmentioned, these meetings allowed me to be myself for a few precious hours every week. We talked about frivolous things, about memories that didn't touch upon what had happened. Athena told me about growing up with her family in Europe, about her workplace… it was as if I was granted a measure of freedom through her company. I treated our encounters as a parting gift, as my final reward for my loyalty."

He exchanged a smile with Athena, and knew both of them were likely wearing identical melancholy expressions at the thought.

When Simon let his gaze wander across the table to his parents, their skepticism seemed to have been replaced by rapt attention for the moment – a good sign.

"Of course," he remarked, "we only managed to carry on like this for a month, as the HAT-2 bombing occurred on December 15th, and as you probably remember, that incident, in conjunction with my looming execution, led to Aura's actions."

Next to him, Athena sighed; apparently, she had all but forgotten the anger and apprehension she had initially felt at his parents' untoward assertions.

"Those five days in December, and especially the 20th… I know that, without my ability, we wouldn't have been able to get the Phantom, but I wanted to rip my ears off more than once during that trial. I could hear my own fear, I could hear my boss's fear… but then, there was Simon's fear, and it was so _loud_… and then, when he finally admitted what he saw that day, I _knew _that his fear was all for _me_. I finally knew that everything was my fault as my memories started coming back, and I was ready to take his place right then and there. Anything… anything to free him. Only, my boss realized that I couldn't have done it, after all, and that's when we finally had the Phantom on the hook…"

She shivered slightly at the memory.

Across from her, Masako breathed, "_Musuko no yō ni isagiyoi kokoro…_"

Simon suppressed a smile; it seemed that his mother was beginning to understand that Athena, young woman though she was, possessed the heart and honor of a warrior, herself.

[End of chapter]

* * *

_Musuko no yō ni isagiyoi kokoro… _- A gallant/honorable heart like my son's... [no politeness inflection, because there's no verb, but "isagiyoi" is a fairly archaic term - if you're looking for samurai vocabulary, there you are!]


	7. Chapter 7

"Well, thank goodness neither one of you had to take the blame anymore after you caught that face-changing menace," Marcus now voiced his thoughts aloud. "You must have both been over the moon when you got out of court that night."

His son barked out a laugh. "It was more a matter of trying to process that this was _real_."

When Marcus looked at him, Simon was stunned by the amount of understanding he could see in his father's expression – not something he had ever expected to witness on the familiar, if by now more weathered, features of his old man.

"I bet. Hours away from the noose, and suddenly, you're free. In a way, it must've been a shock in its own right."

He inclined his head slightly. "Indeed. Not only that, I ended up being dragged to some itinerant noodle stand less than half an hour after the trial had concluded – you would probably enjoy their offerings, Mother, they reminded me of the small restaurant in Mitaka you always liked so much…"

Athena interrupted him by elbowing him in the ribs. "Hey, nobody _dragged _you, you insisted on inviting yourself after the boss was talked into paying for everybody!"

Simon snorted. "You have your version of the events, I have mine. And since Wright-dono isn't here to corroborate your story…"

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Jerk."

He smirked. "And proud of it."

"Now now, children…" Marcus was obviously amused by their little juvenile display. Next to him, Masako had a hand lifted to shield her mouth from Simon's eyes, and he knew she was smiling.

His father then demanded, "On with the story. What happened next?"

* * *

December 20, 2027, 11:30 PM

_It had only been natural for Simon to volunteer to escort Athena home after the group at _Eldoon's Noodles_ had dispersed. Justice had left relatively quickly, as he was still in some pain from his injuries, even if they had healed on the surface – and perhaps also due to his lack of opportunity to grieve for the friend he had lost in the HAT-2 incident. Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth had taken it upon himself to drive Wright, his daughter, the odd Fey girl, and Juniper Woods home, leaving no further space in his car. _

_"I don't need protection, you silly man," Athena groused even as she fell into step next to him, leading the way once they had left the park. "If anyone attacks me, they'll never know what hit them."_

_He laughed. "I'm all too ready to believe that, and yet, I would ask you to indulge me, for my own peace of mind."_

_Eventually, they arrived at a somewhat run-down apartment building in a side street, and she halted in her tracks, turning toward him. "Well, this is it. Thanks for walking me home."_

_"Think nothing of it."_

_He was just about to take his leave when her voice once again managed to freeze him in his tracks. "Simon…?"_

_"Yes?"_

_Suddenly, she pressed herself against him, her head on his chest, her arms wrapped tightly around his torso, her shoulders beginning to shake traitorously._

_"I… I didn't know how to say it earlier… maybe because it just hadn't hit me yet that it's finally over… but I'm so glad that we're okay… and I've wanted to do this the whole time… ever since we started talking again… but there was always the glass between us, and the shackles, and all those people… and I'm so _happy_ to have you back…"_

_At first, he did not know how to react to her holding on to him like that, to her beginning to sob into his suit jacket. It had been so long since he had given or received comfort. However, then his arms wrapped around her seemingly out of their own accord, and in a flash, he was crushing her to him, the contact and her warmth like a drug he had not sampled in years, and he did not even realize that tears of his own were now streaming from his eyes._

It is over. I am free. She is safe. Oh thank_ god…_

_Could a heart be crushed by sudden, unbearable _lightness_? _

_Simon had no idea how long they stood there, lost in each other's closeness. Then, she drew back slightly to look up at him, and one of her arms reached up, her fingers settling at the nape of his neck, and she stood on tiptoes…_

_"We shouldn't do this," he muttered even as he let her guide his head down towards her upturned face._

_"Why not?" Athena asked in a whisper._

_"Neither one of us is thinking straight. You will probably regret this." His fingers were running through her hair as he leaned over her, the distance between their mouths measuring mere inches._

_"I sincerely doubt that." She smiled against his lips._

_Simon crowded her against the wall of the building, kissing her as if his life depended on it, his hand cradling the back of her head to protect it from bumping against the concrete._

_"This is still a terrible idea," he exhaled after coming up for air, just before diving into the kiss again._

_"Oh, absolutely horrible," she agreed breathily during their next fraction-of-a-second break, after his hands had begun roaming over her body._

_"We really should stop," he groaned as she squeezed him through his pants._

_"God yes, what are we doing…?" Her lips were sucking a mark into the skin of his neck._

_"What, indeed…?" He got his revenge by nipping at the upper rim of her ear._

_"I believe we are just about to go upstairs and continue this in a more private setting…?" Athena answered her own question._

_The blatant invitation managed to jar Simon momentarily out of the haze of arousal into which he had been rapidly descending. _

_"Athena, this… this is rather sudden. You _do_ remember that I am ten years your senior, and that I _do_ come with a reputation…?"_

_"Mhm, watch me care…" She reached for him again. "Stop _protecting _me already and put that mouth of yours to better use…"_

_He knew at that point that he had thoroughly lost this particular battle._

_She proceeded to defeat him halfway up the stairs, right after they had finally closed the door of her apartment behind them once they had completed the slowest ascent known to mankind, and multiple times throughout the night._

* * *

"As you can probably tell from that little anecdote, she swooped in and never gave me a chance to get away from her clutches," Simon concluded dryly, although he was aware that the memory made his ears burn.

Marcus bellowed out a laugh that was surprisingly similar to his son's. "I'll say. Good for you, Ms. Cykes – getting this one to make out against a wall like a teenager is _not _something I thought possible before – not even when he _was _a teen…"

Athena seemed a bit taken aback by his father's amusement. "You mean, you aren't mad at me that I jumped him like that…?"

"Considering the circumstances, not in the least." Marcus was still chuckling as he glanced over at his wife, who had lowered her eyes in a display of shyness. "Oh, to be that young again, eh, Masako?"

Simon groaned. "Thank you _very _much for that mental image, Father."

Next to him, Athena giggled as she leaned over towards him, stage-whispering next to his ear, "Hey, I know it's a secret, but… your parents had _sex_ at least twice in their lives!"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "How nice of you to clarify."

Masako daintily took another sip of her mocha before she turned to her husband.

"_Anata_, I believe we owe Cykes-san an apology."

"Oh yes, of course." Marcus cleared his throat. "The way we reacted earlier… we misjudged you severely. I'm sorry for us implying what we did."

He grinned. "I daresay you two lunatics thoroughly deserve each other."

Simon found himself mirroring the grin. Just like that, the barriers had fallen. He was no longer the inscrutable bookworm, the lost son, the lone _rōnin_, the criminal in the eyes of his parents, one to whom they either could no longer relate, or had never been able to relate to to begin with. Their conversation had managed to drive away the specters of the past standing between them, and his interactions with Athena had only served to further humanize him in the eyes of his father in particular, something which had always seemed impossible to accomplish.

He hugged his girlfriend to his side as he inquired, "Are you staying, or would you prefer to finish your run?"

She smiled up at him. "I've gotten my exercise in for the day, so I think I'll stick around for a while longer. It isn't every day that I meet your parents, you know – I'm expecting some embarrassing childhood stories at the very least!"

Simon snorted. "Now _I _suddenly find myself wanting to leave."

Athena feigned a stern expression. "No way, buster. You'll stay right there and let me make fun of you."

He raised his hands in defeat. "Have at it, then."

They remained at the café until it closed, sharing stories and celebrating the fact that, at last, seven years of enforced deceit and disconnection had finally been overcome.

~ THE END/OWARI ~


End file.
